Plenty of devotees had assured me we would love it, but thus far Istanbul had been my only highly enjoyable experience. However, it turned out we could find everything we required for an October half-term family holiday there. We wanted somewhere the year-old daughter could study for her GCSEs, ample entertainment for her year-old brother, and somewhere all-inclusive with five-star facilities where we could enjoy some precious family time.
Each appealed to different members of the family, so we tried both, starting with the discreet, intimate calm of Bijal. A longer sweep of the lobby and the gardens beyond revealed an oasis of calm.
The open-plan restaurant and terrace combine in harmony with the swimming pool and mature greenery. The odd pop of yellow was an unexpected departure from the customary Succession -style palette of earthy neutrals although there are plenty of those too , and oddly cheering β especially for the year-old son, whose yellow and black Dortmund football shirt matched perfectly.
The villas at Bijal have their own pool, just big enough for lazy pre-breakfast lengths me and boisterous games of water football you can guess who. Our private cabana proved the perfect shady spot for school revision, and my daughter was helped no end by the fattest, furriest, purriest of stray cats. October temperatures of 22C to 24C add to the relaxing vibe. At Bijal, entertainment is of the more old-school, make-your-own fun type, with table tennis, jumbo Jenga and chess boards dotted around the resort β good, old-fashioned lo-fi family fun although I did break away for a delicious solo massage at the bijou spa.
Maybe it was just a low-season thing, but the restaurants were not busy, affording intimacy at the expense of a bit of a buzz. Lunchtime nachos in the Beach House restaurant were accompanied by the ubiquitous cute cats. Dinners in the Club House restaurant were delicious with prawns, sea bass, burgers and risotto being the standout dishes. While our villa butler service, provided by softly spoken Bunyod, was impeccable, the table service was patchy.
